Volume 41, No. 1 spring 2016 Cercis canadensis, the eastern redbud by William Astifan, Director

small eastern American woodland understory tree, The adaptive redbud is extensively planted as an the eastern redbud, Cercis (from the Greek kerkis ornamental throughout the eastern United States. It is A meaning weaver’s shuttle) canadensis, is common usually found as an understory tree in mixed forests. It from southern Canada to the Piedmont, Alabama and east grows best in moist, well-drained soil in part shade to Texas. The tree has a short single or multi-stem trunk and part sun. However, the eastern redbud has proven to be rounded umbrella-like crown of spreading branches. very adaptable to different soils, full sun and dry areas. If Standing 20 to 30 feet tall at the edges of , in a grown in wet soils, it is prone to rot. It is not especially or as a specimen on a lawn, the redbud waits for vulnerable to insects or diseases, and is relatively easy to the warming days of spring to burst from winter with a maintain. delightful display of purplish, rosy pink blooms before There are several redbud cultivars on campus. Two it leafs out. It appears as if it was hiding, waiting for the of the more unusual are near the entrance to Sharpless warmer days. The redbud announcing spring in its own Auditorium. ‘Alba’ is a white-flowering tree and is on the special way makes it one of my spring favorites. When right of the sidewalk. ‘Hearts of Gold’, left of the auditorium traveling, I still recall the beauty of the redbud blooms entrance, lives up to its name with maturing yellow then scattered along the highways and at the edges of woods, light green-tinted leaves. ‘Forest Pansy’ emerges with accenting the green flush of spring grass and brilliant red shiny red-purple leaves that remain a subdued dark color of the clay soils it so loves. until fall. There is a nice specimen in front of the Facilities The popularity of this tree derives from the brilliant Maintenance offices. Because of their , all the masses of flowers on bare branches before the tree leafs redbuds make beautiful large shrubs or small trees in the out. The flowers are one-half inch long, sitting on one- landscape. half inch pedicels in clusters of 4 to 8 borne directly on branches and trunks. There is a horticultural term, cauliflorous, referring to flowers borne directly on stems and trunk. Enhancing the blooms are the slender, dark reddish brown to almost black zig-zag twigs that add a most interesting artistic element. The 3 to 5-inch heart-shaped leaf is often wider than long with 5 to 9 prominent veins. The apex comes to a point, and the leaf sits on a petiole 1½ to 2½ -inches long. The leaf is attached alternately on the branches with a smooth, simple edge, and sometimes you will notice small hairs on the underside. The new growth emerges as a reddish purple, gradually opening to a lustrous green through the summer. Some experts say that it does not have a nice fall display. From my observation of the trees on campus, the leaves have an excellent yellow color that sets off the dark zig-zag branches. Hiding in the yellow fall color are the pod-shaped fruits which place the redbud in the pea family, Fabaceae. Persisting most of the winter, the dark brown pods are 2 to 3-inches long and one half-inch wide. It is up to the viewer Photo by Martha Van Artsdalen to decide whether this is a good or bad feature. A redbud, Cercis canadensis, blooms alongside Hall Building.

Haverford College ■ 370 Lancaster Avenue ■ Haverford, PA 19041-1392 ■ (610) 896-1101 Haverford College Arboretum Association

AN INTERNATIONAL VISIT from the DIRECTOR by Bill Astifan, Arboretum Director As you enjoy the articles in this newsletter n November 12, 2015, I hosted a campus visit by Yukio you will get a special look into the Arboretum. Tada, Norihiko Tanikawa and Takeshi Konishi, members You will find that the Arboretum is more than Oof the Rotary Club of Tokyo, Japan. These representatives trees and , it is the people and the heritage were in town to visit their sister club, the Rotary Club of that gives it its personality. The Arboretum Ardmore. It was a delightful tour that started in the Arboretum experience seems to grow into your life once Office for orientation and presentation of the college landscape you engage it. The students lucky enough to history. I then led them on a walking tour that culminated at a land jobs working with the staff develop a site along Woolman Walk behind Swan Field where there are four great sense of place and ownership in our long Okame cherry trees, Prunus ‘Okame,’ purchased and planted in history. The special Arboretum staff definitely 2008 with funds their club donated to the Arboretum through has an impact. the Ardmore Club. The Arboretum has turned another corner in My thanks to Hogie Hanson, Haverford College retiree and its history. Programs and promotion of the member of the Ardmore Rotary Club, for assisting with these Arboretum is turning toward outreach through arrangements. educational programs. This may not sound new, however, emphasis is on the type of education. Several years ago I wrote about Dedicated Students the new Environmental Studies Program and introduced Jonathan Wilson and Helen White. We will be working with them to continue to expand opportunities to use the campus as an environmental lab. This, coupled with the sustainability movement, has positioned the Arboretum to use new topics to plan programs. We are working on a plan to use this information to expand our outreach to new audiences. The Executive Committee is working on plans to expand our outreach to new people. By doing so, we anticipate potential members will develop interest in what we are doing. Our goal is to build on the current membership base. I am excited about expanding into new programs and interest areas. There are some activities that we will continue to offer: Earth Day on April 22 and Arbor Day tree planting on April 29. As we con- tinue to ready the campus for Commencement, (this year it is on Saturday May 14, a change from Sundays) I am always amazed at the cam- pus’ beauty. I invite you to come to campus and experience spring and bring a friend. I end on a special note of thanks to Pat Turner. Pat, who has served on the Arboretum Associa- tion Executive Committee over the last 20 years, now feels it is time, in her words, “to step aside and make room for a new branch on the tree.” Well said; I know that we will continue to see Pat at our events. Please join me in sending Pat our best wishes. Photo by Mike Startup When the 2-foot blizzard struck one January weekend, several Bill Astifan dedicated Arboretum student workers showed up to , Arboretum Director rather than sleep in on a Saturday morning. From left to right: Miwa Wenzel, Abby Fullem, Zoë McAlear and Adriana Cvitkovic.

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NEW BOOK CAPTURES LANDSCAPE HISTORY ows once grazed on today’s athletic fields. Class teams in the 1890s raced each other on wooden bobsleds down the Chill below Barclay Hall. In the 1950s, the public paid 25 cents to skate on the frozen Duck Pond to music piped through a set of loud speakers. Generations have used the campus of Haverford College in many ways. Now a book captures the history of this landscape using photographs from the college’s Quaker & Special Collec- tions. Images of America: Haverford College Arboretum, by curator Martha Van Artsdalen, tells the story of how 200 acres of farm fields evolved into an Arboretum of majestic trees, a 2.2-mile Nature Trail and elegant stone entrance gates. Photo- graphs capture the barn on fire in 1922, long-gone , a football game in the 1920s and students cleaning out the pond in the 1950s. “People most frequently think of history in terms of people, buildings or events, rather than landscapes,” Martha explains. “But the evolution of the land tells a story, too.” The book covers 175 years of the Arboretum’s history, from 1833 when the first 23 students were assigned their own garden plots to tend, to the building of the Peace Garden. In between, students held class snowball fights, the Pinetum was planted and commencement day receptions were shaded by a massive American elm on Founders Green. Text accompanies the nearly 200 images in eight thematic chapters. Images of America: Haverford College Arboretum is now available at the college bookstore in the Whitehead Campus Center, 610-896-1178 or online at haverfordbookstore.com for $21.99.

Courtesy of Arcadia Publishing GRIM DIAGNOSIS A FLURRY OF PLANT MADNESS by Mike Startup, Horticulturist he madness will soon begin with the NCAA Basket- ball Tournament. Sixty-four teams over the next few Tweeks are playing for the title of National Champion. I started to ponder this negative correlation between bas- Charlie Jenkins, right, ketball teams in the tournament and the emergence of the and Jim Ward of John first spring flowers. For plant lovers, I like to think of March B. Ward and Co. use Madness as the time when the plants start their flurry. a Resistograph to determine the extent I recently gave a quick count of what’s in bloom on cam- of interior decay in pus, in the neighborhoods and in my own garden. I came the Greek fir, Abies up with an impressive list of 29 “teams.” cephalonica, by the By the end of the first weekend of play, the basketball Observatory. The field will be reduced by half. Not so, on our side of the extensive decay, plus Shoe String , court! The numbers of plant teams will only be increas- Armillaria mellea, at ing. This weekend, go out in the yard and put together the soil line, make your list of teams. Everyone counts, from the blooms of the tree a hazard. It the 3-inch snow drop to the diminutive red flowers of the will be removed in the 60-foot red maple. near future. Photo by Mike Startup There is no winner in the plant world, but to all who are watching your brackets closely . . . good luck. 3 Haverford College Arboretum Association

THE BEST STUDENT JOB Editor’s Note: The Arboretum offers a limited number of work opportunities for students every semester. Teamed with horticulturists Carol Wagner, Mike Startup and Charlie Jenkins, the students share the same tasks: watering, shoveling snow, raking leaves, weeding display beds, planting shrubs and trees. This May’s commencement will see seven of our students say goodbye as they leave Haverford for new pursuits. We will miss them all. The reflections of several on their time spent in the Arboretum follow. here has been very little consistency throughout the four years that I’ve spent at Haverford. I’ve lived T somewhere different every year. Each semester has come with new classes and professors, new challenges and commitments. I’ve spent each of my summers in a dif- ferent place. My friends have shifted over the years as our lives intersect or go different ways. Throughout it all, my only constant has been my work at the Arboretum. Twice a week, every week of every se- mester, I have woken up at 6:20 to eat a bowl of oatmeal and get dressed to work outside. Every time my alarm goes off that early, I wake up in a haze and question why I ever thought it was a good idea to work the morning shift at the arboretum. But, by 10, when I finish for the morning, my mood has completely turned around. Despite how much I despise each of those early mornings in the first moments of the day, there’s been something that calls me back each semester. Working at the Arboretum has been one of the most rewarding parts of my Haverford experience, filled with great bosses and strong connections to the other student workers, invigorating hours spent outside in every type of weather, and a feeling that I’m contributing to the beauty of our campus. Tomorrow morning my alarm will go off at 6:20 and I’ll hate that I have to wake up and venture into the cold but, come the end of this final semester, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to these days of working at the Arboretum with my favorite horticulturists. Abby Fullem ’16 — Zoë McAlear ’16 have the best student job on campus. Working with the horticulturists at the Arboretum has been a defin- I ing part of my experience at Haverford College. It fa- cilitated my interest in soil science and plant biology, and shaped the path of my academic career. I have memories of Mike Startup quizzing me on Latin plant names and plant families for a biology class. Working with the Arboretum provides solace from the hectic day-to-day of college. After a morning of work, I feel refreshed, and am energized and ready to dive into my work. Sometimes, work actually entails leaving campus, squished between Mike and Charlie Jenkins in the dump truck headed to pick up mums at the local nursery. Wheth- er it’s a wave from a golf cart or a handmade felted hat for Christmas from Carol Wagner, the community within the grounds crew is incredibly kind and supportive. I’ll say it again: I have the best student job on campus. Granted, I’m probably a bit biased, but I stand firmly by that statement. — Abby Fullem ’16 Zoë McAlear ’16 4 Haverford College Arboretum Association

The best student job (continued from page 4)

started working at the Arboretum within my first few of Christmas ornaments for the holiday party; it was an weeks at Haverford, and it has remained a foundational interesting approach to use the native flora, and I enjoyed I part of my Haverford experience. I fondly think back getting some independence to create my own designs! Yet to my first day on campus, move-in day, when my mother I have also enjoyed many other occasions, including plant- stopped Mike Startup to ask who put together the nearby ing and identifying my new collection of succulents, relax- arrangements. Mike told us he was one of the ing in the tropical greenhouse after a day’s hard work, and people behind the campus’ beauty, and I quickly inquired getting stuck in the shrubs in front of Magill. I cannot wait about student work opportunities with these impressive for even more enthralling adventures and experiences be- horticulturists. The rest is history. fore my graduation in the spring! Some of my favorite memories include using a leaf — Lauren Morse ’16 blower for the first time (power tools are too much fun!), shoveling snow at 6 a.m. on a blizzardy Saturday morn- ’m so happy to be back working at the Arboretum in my ing with my coworker Miwa Wenzel, and receiving my dark senior year after a two-year hiatus. This year, as I looked green Arboretum sweatshirt. I have such pride in that I back over my time at Haverford, I realized many of my green sweatshirt. It represents my connection to an amaz- favorite memories were working at the Arboretum during ing group of people. The Arboretum and Grounds crew my freshmen year: shopping for mums in the fall, eating have helped complete my Haverford community — I have a ton of delicious food at the holiday potluck, and work- many more friends to greet around campus. Working well ing on the Stokes Hall green roof in the early morning. I’m with students is not in the horticulturists’ job description, thankful that I was welcomed back, and I have been able but somehow I ended up with three amazing bosses, who I to have another year making more great memories and appreciate very deeply. Thanks for four spectacular years! spending time with some of the most wonderful people — Adriana Cvitkovic ’16 on campus. Working at the Arboretum makes me feel in- volved on campus in an important way — it’s wonderful to walk by tulips blooming in the spring from bulbs I helped oming to work at the Arboretum is always something to plant. I have learned so much from this job, but perhaps I look forward to every week, and there are so many even more importantly, I’ve had a ton of fun! wonderful and humorous memories that accompa- C — Andrea Gaughan ’16 ny these enjoyable times here. My favorite moment was when I partook in the making, decorating, and arranging

Lauren Morse ’16

Photos by Mike Startup and Carol Wagner

Adriana Cvitkovic ’16 Andrea Gaughan ’16 5 Haverford College Arboretum Association

UPCOMING EVENTS Earth Day HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFTOFF Friday, April 22

The large structure Arbor Day emerging this spring Friday, April 29 • Noon on fields near Five years ago, the Arbor Day Foundation conferred the Haverford Road has attracted the interest honor of Tree Campus USA on Haverford College, but the of many walking on Arboretum’s tradition of planting a tree on Arbor Day each the Nature Trail. April has been practiced for over 100 years. This year’s This is an upgraded Arbor Day tree will be a native sycamore, Platanus occiden- discus/hammer cage talis. The tree will replace a pin oak, Quercus palustris, that that will separate the running and had to be removed because of interior decay. We’ll gather throwing events at at the corner of College Lane and Coursey Road in front of spring track meets Sharpless Hall. Come welcome the newest addition to the as well as conform Arboretum collection and take home a plant dividend. to NCAA specifica- tions. It replaces a much smaller setup Fall Lecture on Walton Field. Sunday, October 2 • 2 p.m. • Sharpless Auditorum Photo by Mike Startup

Annual Dinner Meeting “It is one of life’s rarest delights to sit where one may Thursday, October 20, 6 to 9 p.m. look out over the Haverford Campus into the exquisite Founders Great Hall arching, and lacing, and light of a May evening passing westward through the trees.” — Elihu Grant (1873 – 1942) American minister and scholar, in Haverford Moods, 1924 A Closer Look . . .

HA VERFORD COLLEGE ARBORETUM ASSOCIATION

Executive Committee Members at Large Ann Ashmead Tom Shotzbarger ’77 Agnes Moncy Matt Simon ’77 Nancy Pasquier Alan Laura Patterson Staff Representatives: Bill Astifan, Arboretum Director Don Campbell, Director, Facilities Management Claudia Kent, Assistant Director, Facilities Grounds & Sustainability Jesse Lytle, Chief of Staff, President’s Office Student Representatives:

Photo by Mike Startup Austin Huber ’19, Jeanne Quinn ’16 & Annika Ulrich ’18 Tropical plants, including this small banana tree, Musa sp., [email protected] bloom happily in the greenhouse over the winter months. www.haverford.edu/Arboretum

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